After April rise, fewer firms go bust in May, retail and catering hard hit

Photo: DutchNews.nl
Photo: DutchNews.nl

Fewer firms went bust in May than in April, and the bankruptcy rate is some 3% up in the first five months of the year, compared with 2019, national statistics agency CBS said on Friday.

In total, 262 companies were declared bankrupt in May, down 73 on the April total. Companies involved in trade and the retail sector accounted for the bulk of the bankruptcies but in percentage terms, the hospitality sector was hardest hit.

The bankruptcy rates has been rising slightly since September 2018, the CBS said. The April figure was the highest since November 2016, when more than 400 companies went bust.

The figures do not include one-man operated companies.

Economists expect the full impact of the coronacrisis to be felt in the second half of the year.

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